LAS VEGAS – Wednesday night’s NFL opener taught me a few things (or at least reinforced my beliefs).
◗ Opening day in baseball was a long-loved tradition in this country, but just as pro football has bypassed baseball as the national pastime in every way (Nielsen ratings, betting handle, etc.), the NFL’s opening night is closer to a national holiday. MLB couldn’t draw 27 million viewers for an opening baseball game, let alone a World Series game.
“Wham bam!” went the starting gate, as the terrified colt Yankee Rebel stood straight up in his number 4 stall and pitched Victor Espinoza against the back doors. Yankee Rebel then began a dangerous pirouette, squirming and thrashing in an attempt to escape. The outrider saw what was happening and rode to the front of the gate, while an assistant starter reached in and grabbed Espinoza before Yankee Rebel could smash him against the rear of the stall.
As an expert analyst for the TVG horse racing network, Ron Ellis gets paid to have an opinion. Not that he wouldn’t give it to you off camera for free. He’s right about as often as he’s wrong, which in this game is a pretty good average, and he has the advantage of having been there and done all that when it comes to explaining the intricacies of the Thoroughbred racehorse.
Are you ready to rumble???!!!
Too bad. Won’t happen. Even though Sunday’s Del Mar Derby once again pits principals from the dramatics surrounding last week’s Pacific Classic – sparked by the sale of contender Richard’s Kid – the whole business has been dialed down and cooler heads figure to prevail.
The AP Writers’ Poll has USC ranked No. 1 over Alabama by a slight margin, while the USA Today Coaches Poll has LSU at No. 1 over Alabama by an even slimmer margin, so we go to the tiebreaker – and my personal favorite – the Don Best Linemakers Poll.
And the winner is . . .
Alabama?
“Over here,” said Peter Miller, his eyes twinkling beneath his bold, caterpillar brows. “Take a look at the only thousand-dollar sales horse who’s won a Grade 2 stakes race.”
Miller ducked under the webbing and unhooked a big, brown gelding, built like a lumberjack, with a long forelock splayed between his kind eyes. All Squared Away, a son of Bellamy Road, submitted to an appreciative inspection then went back to thinking about whatever Thoroughbreds think about all day long in their stalls.
It was bad enough the stewards at Great Britain’s Ascot Race Course required Chantal Sutherland to count, out loud, the nine whip strokes that got her in dutch during a race in the Shergar Cup competition Aug. 11. Then, piling on, she was informed her four-day suspension for the whip violation would commence “in a fortnight.”
Don’t they even speak English over there?
